Leather Mason Jar Sleeve

Are you looking into getting into working with leather? I have been wanting to for a long time now. This mason jar sleeve is a perfect way to dive in and learn a bit about the craft. We have a great leather store here in Springfield, and the supplies and possibilities are endless. If you don't have a sweet leather store in your area, there's always the Internet, which has everything. This project was super easy, didn't require many tools, and would make a great gift! I'm already looking forward to trying other leather projects. Sorry, family and friends, you're all getting leather stuff for Christmas. I'm not really sorry.

Let me show you what I made!

Supplies:
-heavy-duty leather (the kind I used is about 1/8" thick)
-snap fasteners
-waxed cord

Tools:
-leather punch
-X-Acto knife
-metal ruler
-setter tool or snaptool
-hammer

 Step One: The first thing I did was do a bit of measurin' and figurin'. I knew I wanted to make a sleeve with a handle. So I cut out two rectangular pieces of leather, the first being the sleeve. To get the length, I just wrapped the leather around the mason jar I was using and marked the length with a Sharpie (you can also use the X-Acto to make marks, which I did for the design). I measured the height I needed on the mason jar, then marked out the rectangle. I then scratched in the design and handle holes and cut those out. The first design I cut out was cool, but I found that when it was wrapped around the jar, corners stuck out (dumb!). So I stuck with a diamond shape. Then I cut out a piece that I thought would work for the handle. I wasn't totally guessing; I made a mock-up with paper, which helped in figuring out right proportions and measurements. I'm sure all mason jars are not created equal, but here are the measurements for the Ball wide mouth jar I used:

• sleeve: 11 1/8" x 3 3/8"
• handle:1 1/4" x 10 1/4" 

Step Two: After I had the pieces and designs cut out, I punched holes on the ends of the sleeve piece for the twine. Then I punched a hole on either end of the handle piece and attached the snaps. (We later added a second snap for better aesthetics.) Adding the snaps was a snap. When buying them at your hobby store, you'll get four pieces per set (the bottom, socket, eyelet, and stud.) All you do is set the button in one side of the leather, then the socket on the other end (making sure that the button side is where you want it). Then you place the setter onto the socket and give it a good smack with a hammer. Repeat with eyelet and stud on the other end.

Step Three: Once I had the handle threaded through the sleeve and the snaps set up, it was just a matter of lacing up the two ends of the sleeve together. I cut a couple of feet of the waxed cord and went at it. The cord was stiff enough that I didn't need a needle; I just cut the tip into a sharp point. I started on the inside, knotted the end, and using an "x" pattern, worked my way across. The only thing that I had to worry about was keeping the laces snug. Once you've done that, you're done! Put it on the jar and you've got yourself a handsome sippin' mug. Enjoy!

Side note: This is something extra I did to make it a little bit more customized: I scratched some designs in with the X-Acto knife. Feel free to experiment with that as well!

Let me know if you have any questions! -Josh

Credits // Author: Joshua Rhodes. Photography: Joshua Rhodes And Laura Gummerman. Thanks to Todd Gummerman for modeling. 🙂 Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.